ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., July 19, 2011 -- Technology developed as part of Northrop Grumman's (NYSE:NOC) Rotorcraft Avionics Innovation Laboratory (RAIL) took flight for the first time aboard the U.S. Navy's T-Rex UH-1N test bed aircraft to demonstrate improved aircraft survivability, increased situational awareness and digital interoperability.

Utilizing an Internet Protocol (IP)-based, mesh-enabled, beyond-line-of-sight network, the aircraft transmitted and received sensor meta-data and imagery from the battlefield to provide a common operational picture showcasing network-centric multi-platform collaboration.

The joint U.S. Naval Aviation Center for Rotorcraft Advancement (NACRA) and Northrop Grumman team rapidly integrated, installed and flew a complete avionics suite on the NACRA UH-1N T-Rex helicopter with more than 10 products from multiple companies, including aircraft survivability equipment, the APR-39 Aircraft Survivability Equipment suite controller function, data link and networking equipment, navigation equipment, sensor suites, and display systems integrated together in an open architecture environment.

T-Rex is operated by NACRA, based in Patuxent River, Md., and is the only rotary-wing technology test bed currently flown by the Navy.

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